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INSPIRATIONAL: Donate Vital Organs Before He Dies

Should a person who is dying of an incurable illness be allowed to donate his organs before the disease kills him? Gary Phebus who is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) wants to do just that: donate his heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, the whole shebang now. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord leading in most cases to complete loss of control of voluntary movement and which eventually kills the patient.

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Well, as a little L libertarian, I’d suggest that the Gooferment stay out of it and allow the free market to solve the problem.

Clearly we may need some “rules” to ensure an orderly market. We can have “suicide by organ donation”; any more than we want “suicide by cop”. Can’t have kidney’s being “repoed” by bill collectors. Can’t have poor people sacrificing their organs to pay the bills.

By the same token, we are burying and incinerating organs that could save human lives due to stupid public policy. Why shouldn’t a poor man be able to sell his organ and leave his family a legacy? Other people make big bucks out of transplants. Only the donor doesn’t get a check. That’s not fair either.

We have organ tourism. Rich people shop for venues that are most favorable to them.

So let’s not pretend that the current system is “sweetness and light”!

If you ever need an organ for a transplant operation, chances are you will die before you get one. You can improve your odds by joining LifeSharers. Membership is free.

LifeSharers is a non-profit national network of organ donors. LifeSharers members promise to donate upon their death, and they give fellow members first access to their organs. As a LifeSharers member, you will have access to organs that otherwise may not be available to you. As the LifeSharers network grows, more and more organs may become available to you — if you are a member.

Members Even if you are already a registered organ donor, you should join the LifeSharers network. By doing so, you will have access to organs that otherwise may not be available to you.

By joining LifeSharers you will help reduce the deadly organ shortage. By offering your organs first to other organ donors you create an incentive for non-donors to become donors. As more people register as organ donors, fewer people will die waiting for transplants.

By joining LifeSharers you will also make the organ transplant system fairer by helping registered organ donors get their fair share of organs. About half of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who have not agreed to donate their own organs when they die. That’s not fair, and it’s one of the reasons there is such a large organ shortage.

Join LifeSharers now. It’s free. It could save your life. Everyone is welcome to join. There’s no age limit, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. Once you’ve joined, you can sign up your children as well.

If there’s a recipient who wants to pay for an organ and a living donor who is willing to sell their organ why prevent it? Is it ethical to play God and forcefully condemn donors to poverty and potential recipients to death?

A person’s autonomy should be respected. It doesn’t matter whether the donation is motivated by charity, financial desperation or unmitigated greed and whether the selling of organs offend the moral sensibilities of the religious, medical or Canadian community, organ donation is a personal choice.

So, let people work out the ethical implications of selling their body parts and increase the supply by allowing a free market in organs.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 06:37 and is filed under INSPIRATIONAL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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One Response to INSPIRATIONAL: Donate Vital Organs Before He Dies

As the death toll from the organ shortage mounts, public opinion will eventually support paying for human organs. Changes in public policy will then follow.

In the mean time, there is an already-legal way to put a big dent in the organ shortage — allocate donated organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die. UNOS, which manages the national organ allocation system, has the power to make this simple policy change. No legislative action is required.

Americans who want to donate their organs to other registered organ donors don’t have to wait for UNOS to act. They can join LifeSharers, a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at http://www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. Non-donors should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.